“How do we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psa.137:4).
This verse came to me when I heard reports of certain song writers denying the faith they had so eloquently and movingly written about. It is hard to know whether the reports are true. And even if they are true, we should be guarded in our judgments. The best of Christian leaders get discouraged. Charles Spurgeon was well known for his times of depression. I have personally known good people who go back and forth on what they believe theologically. Instead of pointing the finger and rushing to judgment we should consider Galatians 6:1, considering ourselves lest we also be tempted.
These things said, how are we to respond if it is really true that some well-known Christian song writers have given up the Christian faith? Would it be the same if we continue to sing their songs which have blessed us in the past? Do we keep singing them?
One might say, “If the songs are sound and worshipful, why not keep singing them?”
But, I would reply: if we are consciously aware that the same song writer has denied the fundamental truths of Scripture, singing his or her songs, it seems to me, would be like Israelites singing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. It would seem strange. Awkward. It would not be quite the same. Here is why. It is one thing to fall into sin owing, say, to a sexual weakness. Some have done that. Singing their hymns has probably not had much negative effect on worshippers. But if I am to learn that one no longer believes that Jesus Christ is the God-man and the only way to God and to Heaven (John 1:1; 14:6), I am not sure I could sing with the same sense of awe and feeling.
But you might say, “Surely the words are what matter. If the words are good and sound, who cares about the person who wrote them?”
I reply: consider Balaam’s prophecies. They are sound as they can be. For example:
“How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? . . . (Numb.23:8)
Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like this? . . .(Numb.23:10).
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?. . .(Numb.23:19).
“It shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What God has wrought!’. . . (Numb.23:23).
“I see him, but now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come out of Jacob, a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numb.24:17).
But who sings or quotes these prophecies? Certainly not Israel. And how often do you see them quoted in the New Testament? Not even once.
But you certainly have references to Balaam (2 Pet.2:15; Jude 11; Rev.2:14). Both ancient Israel and the early church refused to give Balaam the slightest bit of honor. The opposite was true. The irony is: Balaam’s words were true! But he was no man of God and he is to be rejected to this day.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to turn Balaam’s striking words into music – sound and accurate though they may be.
This goes to show that a person’s life and doctrine are inseparable. Paul said to Timothy, “Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life “ (2 Tim.3:10 – KJV). He said to his converts, “You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (1 Thess.1:5).
The question follows, “How is it possible for a person to write with an apparent devotion to Christ and later renounce it?” I suggest two reasons. First, it is because of God’s common grace – His goodness to all apart from whether or not they are converted. Common grace enables people to do extraordinary things – whether the ability to teach nuclear physics, play Bruch’s Concerto in G minor on a violin or grasp the language of Zion sufficiently to write about it. Second, one can have a head-knowledge of what Christians like to hear and sing. The writer himself may be detached from this in his heart but still say all the right things.
But there is more. We live at a time when people prefer singing songs to hearing the word of God taught. More time is often given to worship through singing than in listening to good teaching. It is for this reason that a person can be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Eph.4:14). The more grounded one is in Holy Scripture, the less likely he or she will renounce the faith if one has been persuaded of the infallibility of the word by the inner testimony of the Spirit.
Yes, this is where Word and Spirit come in. I would have to add that we have absolutely brilliant and godly song writers today, and some do match the depth of the Charles Wesleys and John Newtons of this world. But I have been also been pleading that churches should sing both the old hymns and the new songs. As the parable of Jesus put it, “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt.13:52).
I hope that the rumors of well-known song writers renouncing the faith are untrue. But true or not, I write this blog with the hope that reading this can make a difference in our worship today.